Dates Section

Add new date by clicking the “Add Date” button.

Label

Label is set to Creation by default.

Expression

Expression is used only for dates or date spans spelled out in full year/month (and in rare cases day) form, e.g. 2009 September-2010 February, or 1980s, or if using “circa” to indicate uncertainty about dates, e.g. circa 2000-2010. This field is not used if the single date or date range is a simple YYYY or YYYY-YYYY format. If two dates exist for a collection separate with a comma or semi-colon and then fill in the inclusive dates - example 1965; 2009.

         Examples

    • 1903, 1950-1955
    • circa 1952-1978
    • circa 1975 August
    • 1892 or 1893
    • before 1920
    • after 1920
    • 2015 Fall
    • 2009 April 5 - 2010 May 1

           For undated material:

    • Use sparingly. Use circa to estimate the date range, if the creation date is truly unknown use "undated", do not use n.d.

Type

Choose the appropriate option from the drop down menu.

OptionWhen Used
Bulk DatesRarely used at file level. Creation dates applicable to the majority of materials in the description level, excluding any outliers on either end.
Inclusive DatesCreation dates applicable to all materials in the accession, including outliers on either end.
SingleUse if there is only one creation date for all materials in the unit described.

Begin

Numerical value of earliest (or only) creation date in the accession in YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format.

Examples

    • 2018-01-01 (in expression field: 2018 January 1)

    • 1975-05

    • 1998

End

Numerical value of latest creation date in the accession in YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format.

Certainty

Choose “Approximate” from the drop down menu if dates are uncertain for any reason.

           Example

    • approximately 1925

Content Reference

DACS 2.4